I have a friend, Jenny, who's been in a tense place with her younger sister for a while. They've gone a couple rounds over the past few months. Heated verbal discussions. Tears. Hurt feelings. The whole nine yards, barring any black eyes at least. It was as strained as any relationship I've ever seen.
And, truth be told, I didn't know how it was going to level out.

Jenny's little sis asked me if I wanted to grab coffee. She asked if I'd share some of my story and maybe help her understand her sister a little better. I respect an open-mind, so I met her for a mocha.......
and I was overwhelmed.

Little sis displayed humility. Depth. Regret. Resolve. And understanding.
I wanted to cry as our conversation unfolded. Eventually I did weep with her, and not my typical one-leaky-eye tears either. I cried with her over the mountain she had to face and the determination she had for restoring her relationship with Jenny. It was inspiring. It was humbling. It was a glimpse into the eternal really... that willingness to cast oneself upon the rocks of love, forgiveness, and rebuilding.

I called Jenny to tell her: I'm impressed with your sister's character. And though you are probably justified in your anger... you'd better get your heart ready. You aren't going to be able to remain hurt or angry. Sorry friend, you don't get to "be right" for much longer. God's going to heal your relationship with your sister. And to accomplish that, He'll need to supernaturally heal your heart.

That word, supernatural. It's a funny word. It makes me think of Superman. It makes me think of healed lepers. It makes me think of Nigeria (that's another long story, for another time).
When I think of siblings, I don't think of the word supernatural.
When I consider forgiveness, I think: Oh, good! But I don't think of supernatural.

The thing is... supernatural simply means "not natural." Yep, simple as that. Anything above or beyond what normally occurs is supernatural. So why do I let the connotation of supernatural ruin my expectation for the supernatural all around me?

Last weekend Jenny told me that she barely recognizes her own heart. She used to sense only anger, frustration, pain, pity, and resentment towards her sister. She used to describe their relationship as tense and clouded in deceit. Now she uses words like healing and forgiveness. A few days ago, Jenny told me that God supernaturally healed her heart. He supernaturally restored her relationship with her sister. What Jenny was not capable of on her own, that depth and speed of forgiveness, Christ did.

Kind of reshapes my understanding of supernatural.
My prayer is that the Spirit of God continues to do what is "not natural" because we are in need of healing. A deep, rich kind of healing that cannot be attained by our own abilities. My prayer is that we learn to live in anticipation of the supernatural.



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"We are not meant to live merely by what is natural. We need to learn to live by the supernatural. Ordinary fare will not fill the the emptiness in our hearts." -Elisabeth Elliot